The last one standing

2039

As the late summer afternoon rolled lazily through the small village, the incessant giggle of children could be heard all around.

“Irina! Where are you going? When are you going to finish your school readings?!” shouted a stout, tall woman, whose voice echoed through the walls of the neighboring houses.

“I will do it when I come back, mama! I promise!”

“Ay, this child…” her mother gave a deep sigh as she watched her go, frowning slightly. From inside the house, she heard her husband ask where he put the bullets for his revolver. A dark shadow crossed her face before answering he had none.

The young girl snickered as she flew as fast as she could to where her playful companions were at. It was almost time for school once again, but Irina was not as excited about that as much as she was about graduating and going to the big city. It has been so long since I last saw Mimi she thought wistfully as she made her way down to the school’s playground, where she spent all of her summer afternoons with the village’s few children left.

“Anya!” she greeted her friend as she ran towards her, almost knocking both of them down.

“Irina! You crazy woman! You’re gonna get us both killed!” retorted Anya, visibly irritated at her friend’s childish recklessness.

“But is good to see you too.” Anya’s expression softened as she embraced her friend as well.

“I missed you so much! I was so lonely and bored at my grandparents’ place…” Anya shook her head in disapproval.

“You have no idea! All they do is sleep, eat and complain all day long!” Irina chuckled in delight as she listened to her friend grumble about her summer vacation experiences. She was indeed looking forward to this school year.

2040

“Ivan Alekseev Vasilyevich step forward!”

The hustle and bustle of the training grounds could disorientate even the most attentive of men, but not Vanya who was more than thrilled to be there.

He had been so eager to become a soldier like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather who fought in the great war decades ago. One could say it ran in the family.

“You have been assigned to the ...”

Vanya’s mother was troubled when she found her son’s desire to join the army. She often regarded him as the ‘academic’ in the family. She wished he had changed his mind by the time he graduated and followed the path towards medicine or engineering.

”This world has seen so much misery, it is only a matter of time until it breaks” she used to say to his father who used to return home bruised and battered from either training or secret missions. Being a soldier is no easy feat is what Vanya told himself, but in the end, if you want to be part of something great you have to become greater. His father, on the other hand, was nothing but proud to see his son follow in the footsteps of his ancestors.

Vanya wanted to be like his father who is a former agent of the National Defence Agency, intercepting secret messages relayed by traitors, filthy dissidents, giving up the secrets of the state. He also looked up to his grandfather who also partook in the efforts against the U.S. back in the times, a hero in the eyes of many patriots. Vanya too wished to become a national hero, a pillar of the motherland, and a comrade many would look up to.

“Long live the glory” he whispered to himself.